Emerald Waves
by M-Angel 05
Summary: What if Jae-ha was saved from his village by a certain Ouryuu a year or two before Yona was born? (Gems Series 3)
1. Big Brother

**Chapter 1** : _Big Brother_

* * *

Blue eyes looked out into the village he had come to. It looked like a normal, everyday village; but Ouryuu Zeno knew the truth. He could feel it due to the connection of the dragons of old. Ryokuyuu lived here and he was just curious to see how his wayward brother was doing. Shuten had never been able to stay in one play for a very long time; however, four or five years ago he'd felt a new Ryokuyuu take over, his energy was brighter than the ones before him, but he'd never left this area. Children should be allowed to play and jump around and get into trouble, but this one seemed sad and lonely. So Zeno had come to see why.

He watched groups of children playing and running around with bright smiles. He sat under a tree watching the daily coming and goings of the village. Nobody noticed him because he sayed off to the side, was dressed in warn out clothes and looked like a beggar. So he wasn't bothered by the people and was able to notice things like the bows everybody carried or the staff weapons that young men carried with confidence or the net shooters that some seemed to carry. He also noticed the towers at the four corners of the village. The village was like a prison with the villagers acting as the guards.

It was then he saw a green haired young man with a scowl on his face. His dragon leg visible as his pant leg had huge holes in it and his pants were worn, as if he hadn't had a new pair in years. The way he carried himself though had Zeno feeling sad. It was as if he was drunk and the shadows around his eyes showed how tired he was. This was not the Ryokuyuu. He once had been, but no longer was. Zeno could sense the dragon power leaving the man.

Zeno looked towards the cabin that this man had come from and noticed somebody was inside of it. He could see movement but he couldn't see who it was. He turned his eyes to the green haired man and watched him enter the tavern. Narrowing his eyes, Zeno felt the sadness from Ryokuyuu return to ten fold. Ouryuu did not like this. He felt his blood begin to boil, he wanted to protect his brother! Zeno couldn't understand why he felt this way, but he knew, he just knew, something bad was going on.

* * *

Night came and with it people began filtering into their homes. The green haired man stayed at the tavern and Zeno made his move. Using the clouds covering the moon to his advantage, the blonde haired dragon warrior made his way across the village to the lone cabin. Pushing the door open he paused as the moon shone into the single room home. The floor was covered by straw and in the corner of the room was a small boy cowering away. Attached to the boy's arm and leg were chains and when he saw the bruises covering his face, neck and arms and in that instant, Zeno felt an anger overwhelm all other senses.

Zeno rarely ever got angry. He was always joyful and smiling because that's what people liked to see when they saw him. He could fight, yes. He could use all sorts of weapons, thanks to Shuten and Guen. He, however, was not a violent person per se; but he was protective of those he cared for and the dragons were one thing he was very protective of.

Looking around the room he spotted a knife at the very end of a table that was near an actual bed. Taking the knife, he heard the boy whimper behind him. "Don't worry little brother," he said causing the boy's eyes to widen at him. "Zeno will never hurt you."

"Brother?" The boy asked in a quiet voice.

"All the dragons are brothers." Zeno stated as he walked over to the boy. "I'm the eldest. I'm the Ouryuu." He smiled at the boy. "Zeno is going to help you, then we will leave."

"Garou will catch me again!" The boy cried out in fear. His green eyes shimmered with unshed tears in the moonlight.

 _Garou_. Zeno thought. _So that's his predecessors name._ He looked at the boy. "Ryokuyuu can jump high and kick hard; but Ouryuu has a strong body." He stated as he took the knife cut his hand in a single stroke, before he cut his other hand. Zeno showed the boy his hands as they healed causing already wide eyes to widen further. Zeno then took the boy's hand and placed it on his arm letting him feel the beginnings of his scales forming. "Zeno's body is as strong as steel." He said quietly before he stood, the boy's hand pulling away from him. Fisting his hand he punched the chains attached to the wall and watched as they crumbled away. Not wasting a moment he picked the boy up. He then waited a moment until the moon was once again covered by the clouds before he pushed himself into a fast run.

Another thing Zeno had discovered in the passed thousand or so years, was that once his scales appeared not only did he become stronger, but faster as well. He could cover great distances in minutes, if he pushed himself and tonight he was doing just that; pushing himself to his limits. The boy on his back clinging to him like he was his lifeline and in a way Zeno supposed he was.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : This will probably be a short story. It's going to be mainly on Jae-ha nd how different his life would've been had Zeno helped him back then. Later on Yona will make an appearance with Hak, but that'll be awhile.


	2. Brother Hakuryuu

**Chapter 2** : _Brother Hakuryuu_

* * *

The clinking sounds of the chains attached to the bracelets on the child's arm and dragon leg was the only sound between Zeno and the boy. His breathing was light as he laid asleep on Zeno's back. The soft breath tickling the hairs on his neck, causing the once lonely Ouryuu to smile as he continued to walk. He had run for nearly an hour or two perhaps, before he was certain nobody was chasing them. He had yet to ask the child what his name was. _Oh well._ He thought as he felt the continued breathing of the boy against his neck and back. _I'll ask when morning comes._ He paused in his steps. _But where should I take him? Seiryuu's village is too far away. Hakuyuu's village is closer, but the last time I was there they attacked me._ He looked up at the cloud covered moon. He then felt the boy shiver slightly and sighed. _I can't raise him by myself. I'll need help. Plus I did promise Guen to visit his village. Perhaps they'll be more welcoming._ He moved his feet towards the fertile valley of the fire tribe hoping that this time he'd be welcomed by his brother's tribe.

* * *

Zeno hated foggy mountains, he really did. He always lost all sense of direction when getting caught up in some fog. Hakuyuu lives up here. He thought before he noticed that his next brother's signal was weak, almost as if he was sensing a predecessor instead of the next generation. _But if it is a predecessor than why don't I sense the next one?_ He wondered as he continued walking.

His legs hurt from moving all night long. His arms ached from holding the boy on his back all throughout his journey here. They had crossed a couple rivers and several fields in the lower valley's. His legs shook with every step, but Zeno pushed onward.

Now as morning dawned and the early light cast away the shadows of night, the warmth from the sun hit the cool ground causing the fog to rise. The fog lifted high in the sky causing Zeno to pause in his steps. Wearily looking skyward he saw that the fog settled just below the tree branches. His blonde hair fell against his face as the clinking of the pendant on his head caught his attention for a moment. Taking a deep breath he pushed the boy up against his back a little more and was about to continue their journey up the mountain when he heard a moan from the boy.

"Lad, are you okay?" He asked causing the boy to stiffen for a moment before he calmed down.

"Uh-huh." He answered softly. His green eyes peering at the foggy area as he continued to lay against Zeno. "It...It smells nice here." He said in observation.

Zeno took a deep breath before letting it go. He was right, it did smell nice here. "Zeno agrees with Lad." He stated before walking once more.

"Jae-ha." The boy stated gaining silence from Zeno. "It's my name." He said softly against Zeno's back.

"How old is brother Jae-ha?" Zeno asked, wanting to know more about his little brother.

"Five." Jae-ha mumbled softly as he settle against Zeno's back. " 'm tired." He said as he closed his eyes.

"Sleep. We're not to our destination yet." Zeno stated as he began a steep climb and came to rest against a large tree. Zeno is tired. He thought taking deep breaths. He was about to continue once more when an arrow fell from the sky in front of him.

"Go back!" yelled a deep voice. "There is nothing here for travelers like yourself!"

"This mountain is sacred!" yelled another voice.

Sacred? Zeno wanted to laugh at that notion. It was ridiculous. "Zeno was hoping to find his brother's village here!" He yelled causing Jae-ha to lift his head slightly.

"No village here!" Lied the voice.

"Zeno knows that is a lie!" He yelled. "Ouryuu has been here before! He knows Hakuyuu is here!" A series of gasps were heard. "Ouryuu needs help from brother Hakuyuu with little brother Ryokuyuu!"

The fog began to dissipate revealing several dozen men in the trees above and in front of him. "Lord Ouryuu!" yelled a young man with sand colored hair before he and others around began to bow low to the ground. "We welcome you."

"Oi, big brother, who are these people." Jae-ha asked as he peered over Zeno's shoulder, his green hair and eyes causing the people around them to gasp lightly.

"Lord Ryokuyuu!" another light colored haired man said.

"Forgive us! We did not know it was you!" cried a younger male.

"Lord..." Jae-ha began as his eyes widened in shock. "Ryokuyuu?" He finished with a questioning tone before looking at Zeno. "Big brother?"

Zeno laughed lightly. "It's been a long time since Zeno has been call that." He said as he watched the men approach him.

"Allow us to escort you to Hakuyuu village." He stated before he suddenly noticed the chains on the young boy's arm and dragon leg. "We'll also ensure those," he pointed at the chains. "are taken off immediately."

"Thanks." Zeno said with a deep sigh before he felt somebody take Jae-ha for him.

"Zeno!" The boy cried out in fright.

Zeno took the boy's hand. "It's okay. You won't be hurt." He said softly trying to relieve the boy's fears.

Jae-ha's eyes never left Zeno's form. Zeno finally realized that he was the first person Jae-ha had ever trusted and knew that this was a great honor. "Don't worry." He said as he began to feel his tiredness catching up to him. "They won't hurt us." His eyes began to droop slightly, as he stumbled he felt somebody grab him and wrap an arm around him.

"Lord Ouryuu, are you okay?" The gentle voice asked him.

"Zeno walked all night." He explained. "Very...tired." He mumbled, as his body began to feel very heavy; especially his eyelids.

"We're almost there." The gentle voice stated causing Zeno to smile.

* * *

After they arrived the two were brought to a small circular two story hut with a bright yellow door and red markings on it. Zeno saw the futon that was on a raised platform. He practically fell into the soft futon mattress face first. He snuggled against the bedding and sighed. He then felt a tiny body lay down next to his. Opening an eye he spotted Jae-ha laying on the bed with a soft smile on his face.

"Thank-you brother Zeno for bringing me here." He said softly before he began to fall back to sleep.

 _How could I ignore you when I saw you there?_ He thought mournfully. _You were hurt and in need of my help. I would've been dishonoring Shuten's memory had I left you there to be continually abused_. He thought sadly as he touched Jae-ha's bruised cheek. A tear escaped his eyes. _I could never do that. What kind of brother would I have been had I?_ He thought before unconsciousness claimed him.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : I'm still playing with this story, writing as I go. I do know how it'll end, I just don't know where the story is gonna take me in the meantime. LoL! ^0^


	3. Kija

**Chapter 3** : _Kija_

* * *

Zeno heard gentle voices whispering as he came to. Blearily he opened his eyes and saw the soft morning light flitter across the room. Jae-ha was sitting across the room in a tub looking a lot like a drowned kitten, though Zeno was very surprised to not have heard the splashing sounds as the boy was manhandled and washed by two lovely looking women, both of which looked to be twins with long tan colored hair and matching almond colored eyes. As the two continued to wash the flailing youngster, Zeno stretched in the bed he had been sleeping in and slowly sat up.

"Ahh!" Jae-ha's cry caught Zeno by surprise causing him to stand quickly, his legs wobbling in the process. He looked up in time to see that the women had dumped a bucket of water on the child. Zeno chuckled causing said child to glare at the noise; which caused Zeno to laugh louder.

"Don't laugh!" Jae-ha yelled at him as a frown crossed his visage. "You're next big brother!" He threatened the golden haired man.

"Yes, yes." Zeno agreed, having already thought it'd be prudent to get cleaned. He looked at the two women as he approached the tub. Jae-ha was now standing in a foot of water. "Is it possible if Zeno could get some clothes similar to what he's wearing?" Zeno had seen the clothes that the people seemed to wear here and decided that he just couldn't pull it off.

"Yes." He heard an old voice from the doorway. He turned his head towards it and saw and old woman being carried by six young men on some sort of platform. "Thank-you." He said with a bow.

"That is unnecessary Lord Ouryuu." She stated with a wave of her hand. "Everyone here calls me either Elder or Granny; you and Lord Ryokuyuu may call me either." She saw the boy had squatted down into the tub to hide himself. She smiled and chuckled.

"Zeno's name is Zeno." He stated with a bright smile. "Zeno doesn't mind if people call him by his name instead." he saw the older woman's eye twitch at that and snickered inwardly.

A gasp from Jae-ha caused both to turn towards the child. The boy had fallen out of the tub, his cheeks bright red and hands covering his privates. "B-Big brother!" he cried out with wide eyes.

"What happened?" he asked the two girls who were both giggling at the obvious embarrassed Ryokuyuu.

The taller of the two women turned towards Zeno. "We were only cleaning between his-" she began.

"She touched my privates!" Jae-ha yelled, by now his whole face was bright red. "Bath is done!" he announced with venom in his voice before turning away from everybody to hide his embarrassment.

Zeno took off his jacket, placed it over Jae-hat's shoulders and then turned towards the women. "Okay.. Zeno's turn for a bath."

The older woman chuckled. "Okay ladies, let's leave them be." she clapped her hands causing the girls to pick up the dirty water buckets and finish filling the tub with cleaner water before leaving. The door slid close, leaving the two alone.

As Zeno began to undress, Jae-ha lifted the jacket off of his head and looked at the older man. Once the shirt was off of Zeno's back, Jae- ha spoke up. "Zeno," he looked at the yellow haired man once again and noticed that as old as Zeno acted his body was quite young looking and that he had no scars anywhere on it. "how old are you?"

Zeno peered over his shoulder at the youth and smiled. "Zeno is seventeen." he stated happily for it was the truth, sort of. His body would never age, even if he did mentally.

Green eyes peered up at him from under long green bangs. "Are you lying?" Jae-ha asked with a frown.

"Half-truth." Zeno stated as he began to untie his pants before looking over at Jae-ha over his shoulder. "Turn around."

"Why?" Jae-ha asked with a frown.

Zeno chuckled a he recalled the boy's previous living condition. His predecessor probably didn't tell him to look away when they had bathed. he thought before scratching his cheek. "Zeno is shy." he said with a blush.

Jae-ha rolled his eyes. "We've got the same stuff." he stated but did as he was told. As soon as he heard the splash of water he turned back around. "Zeno, are we staying here?"

"For awhile." was the golden haired dragon warriors answer.

Jae-ha lifted his head when he heard a soft knock before walking over to the door to open it. "Why?" he asked as he pushed the door open. Looking out it he found the hall empty, but two sets of clothes sat on the floor. Picking them up he padded back into the room, Zeno's jacket still on his shoulders as he walked around causing the Ouryuu to think he looked like he had a dress on and chuckled causing Jae-ha to look at him.

"Hakuryuu is here." was his answer causing the boy to look at him and roll his eyes. _Cute_! Zeno thought with a smile. "We will talk to him and then decide."

Sighing Jae-ha gave a nod before shoving the jacket off of his shoulders and getting dressed in the clothes. After dressing Jae-ha looked at himself with a frown. The clothes were long on him. The brown pants were covered by a long pocketless long sleeved jacket that was green with a long bright green and golden serpentine dragon on the back with its long tail wrapping around Jae-ha's waist with a cord. The boy soon was glaring at himself in the mirror. He hated the clothes and looked at Zeno. "I. Do. Not. Like. This." he punctuated each word.

Zeno chuckled. "I'll talk to Granny." he stated before looking for the towel and grabbed it before standing and quickly wrapping it around his waist. Stepping out of the bath, he began to dress quickly. His clothes were the same in design only the pants were orange and the jacket was bright yellow with an orange and white dragon on his back. Okay, he'd agree that the clothes were less than appealing. _They're comfortable though._ he thought as he tied his green scarf up in his hair like always and reattached the dragon pendant on he side of his scarf.

Jae-ha looked at his brother and almost laughed. "Zeno, you don't look very pretty." he said trying to hold back his laughter. "You kind of look like a big ball of yellow that had been puked up." the boy began to laugh at that point.

Zeno smiled at the boy, happy that he was laughing; even if it was at his expense.

* * *

After the two got dressed, they decided to explore the village they'd be calling home for awhile. Jae-ha scratched and itched his body the whole time. The clothes were not comfortable in his opinion, which he voiced; often.

When the two found themselves at the big tree in the center of the village, Jae-ha promptly sat down under it. He was done exploring for awhile and he wasn't in a very good mood anymore. Looking at Zeno he was about to voice his displeasure once again when he saw a dozen people approaching them from behind Zeno. Standing he quickly hid behind Zeno after he had turned to speak to the people approaching them. "Can Zeno help you?" he asked sounding confused.

A young man with sandy colored hair spoke. "We've seen you exploring our village and wanted to give you some food." he stated pointing to the women behind him.

"We want our visitors to be happy." A young woman stated as she pushed the young man out of her way which had others pushing forward to get the two visitors attention.

"Zeno..." Jae-ha said his name as if he was frightened.

Zeno frowned before stepping forward. "We appreciate your generosity," he began when he saw a silvery white haired man appear behind the crowd. "but Zeno could never eat all this with brother Jae-ha." he smiled happily. "Perhaps everybody will join us?" At those words the young women pushed at each other to sit next to Zeno, who gently pushed Jae-ha behind him so much that the boy didn't get hurt accidentally.

A throat cleared causing the women to turn their heads, everybody bowed instantly. "Lord Hakuryuu!" several cried out.

"May I join?" he asked his voice gently washing over the young women.

"That would be great!" Zeno yelled. "Brother Hakuryuu is always welcome." he smiled.

Jae-ha poked his head out from behind Zeno. He then pulled Zeno's sleeve causing the blonde to look down at him. "Do girls always go crazy like that?" he asked a bit loudly causing Hakuryuu to laugh as he sat down next to the two much younger boys.

Zeno blushed before looking at the now embarrassed young women. "Not always." Zeno stated."This is a first for Zeno."

"Zeno?" the older man spoke his name softly. "That's not a name you hear much these days." he said as he drank some juice the women poured in a cup and handed him. Zeno and Jae-ha were served some as well.

Zeno looked at the cup of grape juice and smiled with a somewhat nostalgic look in his eyes. "Zeno was named after his grandfather, who received his name from his father." he answered with some sadness in his voice.

"A familial name." Hakuryuu stated as he began to drink from the cup. "I see." he said after a moment.

"What is brother Hakuryuu's name?" Zeno asked, genuinely curious.

"I am no longer Hakuryuu." he said with sadness in his voice. "I do not always remember the name my parents gave me." he looked at Zeno with sadness in his eyes. "They call me Zen. It is in honor of the first Ouryuu and because that is all we remember of his name."

Jae-ha suddenly stood up and began looking around himself. His eyes wide and hair being blown around by the wind. "Jae-ha?"

The boy touched his chest. "I-I feel...something here." he pointed to his chest. "Its…warm."

Zeno chuckled. "That's the connection of the warriors." he said. "It allows you to always sense one another."

Jae-ha suddenly spun around. "There's one coming." he said.

"Hakuryuu." Zen said as he stood up. "I'm not allowed to be near him. My anger gets a hold of me when we are too close right now." he then left the group just as a woman with a silver haired baby came into view of the two other dragon warriors.

Zeno stood up and as the boy was revealed to him and Jae-ha, he felt the strength in the boy. Slowly he was gaining the strength of the dragons and as Zeno saw the Hakuryuu claw he heard Jae-ha ask for his name. The woman smiled softly. "Kija." she said gently as she didn't wish to awaken the sleeping child. Zeno smiled. Slowly the warriors of old were coming together. Now if only he could find Seiryuu and their family would almost be complete.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : Poor Kija's dad. I'm always sad when I see that scene with him. It makes me cry.


	4. Brothers

**Chapter 4** : _Brothers_

* * *

As the years went by Zeno found that there was more than one way to abuse a child. For Jae-ha it had been physical abuse, for Kija it was different. The villagers kept Kija away from Zen due to the incident when the boy had been born where he had allowed his anger to get ahold of him and make him cause harm to his son, a son he truly loved but wasn't allowed to see unless he was supervised. Kija wasn't allowed to act like other children by running or playing, but was taught at a very young age how to use his dragon claw in battle. He wasn't allowed to go off by himself and have some **_me_** time. He was instead always supervised. He was dressed up like a doll in very uncomfortable clothes, something Jae-ha instantly picked up on.

Then the day came when Zen's power was gone. Kija had been with his father when it had happened, having snuck off to be with his father without anybody knowing. He had hugged his father and had been the first to shed tears for Zens death. When his father had been burried both Jae-ha and Zeno had stood by the child, not even leaving him alone during the night. It was after this that Zeno believed that as safe as the village was, it was time to leave; and soon.

A few weeks afterwards Zeno saw the red star in the sky. He had been helping in cleaning the dishes with some of the ladies, both of his brothers stood near him, Jae-ha in a tree and Kija was solemnly looking at his claw when Zeno suddenly looked into the sky and froze. When Zeno stopped all movement he had dropped the clay dishes causing them to shatter. The women began to fuss, but Zeno couldn't hear them. The red star, the same one that had appeared the night Hiryuu had first come to their world, was back! Hiryuu was back! Zeno began to silently cry and that caused both of his brothers to come to him.

"Zeno, don't cry." Kija said softly as he took Ouryuu's hand in comfort. "We can make more dishes."

Jae-ha, being older than Kija, knew that his older brother rarely cried and knew instantly that something was going on here. "Zeno?" he questioned him as he jumped down from the tree.

"He's coming back." he said, his voice showing how joyful he really was. "That's Hiryuu's star." he explained as he nodded towards the celestial object in the sky. "He's going to be reborn." he reached up to wipe his eyes before looking down at the two boys. Touching Kija's head before Turing and touching Jae-ha's shoulder he continued. "We'll need to be ready for him." he gave a nod before he headed back to his and Jae-ha's home, it was time to leave.

* * *

Waking up in the middle of the night Zeno woke up Jae-ha with a gentle shake. "Zeno?" he questioned his actions sleepily.

"Shh..." he hushed the boy. "Time to leave brother Jae-ha." he spoke quietly before handing him some clothes and began to pack a bag while Ryokuyuu finished dressing. He then wrote a short note explaining where they had gone and that he was sorry that they had left so suddenly but not to fear for their fates because Hiryuu had returned and that they'd gone to be at his side.

As the two crept silently through the village they heard a snapping of twigs behind them. Upon turning around they found Kija standing behind them looking a bit upset that they had been about to leave him behind. "Brother Kija." Zeno began but stopped when he saw the small bag on the boy's back.

"I'm coming too." he said stubbornly. The look in his eyes showed how serious he was and child his age should never have been able to make such a face.

Zeno sighed in defeat. "Very well." he said before Turning away from the two boys.

"Don't slow us down." Jae-ha whispered quietly.

Kija's cheeks puffed out. "I won't." he said quietly before chasing after them.

It wasn't very hard to avoid the sentry now that they knew where they were hidden. They went higher into the mountain before climbing down from the other side. This was where Zeno taught Kija how to use his claw as a hook during their climb down from the high mountainous area. Jae-ha leapt from the height, his pupils dialating in excitement as he flew down the mountain quietly and quickly. By the time Zeno and Kija caught up to Jae-ha, the green haired boy already was at the foot of the mountain, had a fire started and had breakfast cooking over said fire. Kija practically inhaled the cooked fish. Zeno found himself quite hungry and he too devoured the food quickly. Jae-ha had a wide smile on his face as they all enjoyed breakfast.

"Where are we going?" Jae-ha asked after he was done eating.

Kija looked at Zeno, he too wanted to know the answer to that question. "We are going to visit brother Seiryuu, then we are going to go visit a friend of Zeno's." he answered as he put the flames out after standing up. Looking towards the northern area he chuckled. _Abi always did enjoy making it a game in finding him._ he thought as he swore he could sense the Seiryuu in two different places. He knew only one was the real Seiryuu, as the other was the predecessor. Looking towards the two boys he smiled at them."Let's go."

* * *

The Seiryuu village wasn't protected like Hakuryuu's village, instead it was in the deep woods near an open field with a river nearby. They stayed out of sight and kept an eye on the village in hopes of making contact with Seiryuu and nobody else. A tall muscular man could be seen walking through the village with aqua colored hair and golden eyes. Jae-ha stayed high in the tree and watched from afar. He had burrowed some clothes from one of the homes in the village, so even if he was seen, he wouldn't be thought of as a stranger. He wore a sakkat hat to hide his green hair, which helped. Zeno on the other hand stood out like a sore thumb, with his bright yellow hair and gold sleeveless jacket. He sat next to the river and waited for either Seiryuu to make contact with him.

As it turned out the predecessor found Zeno easily and approached him with the intention to do harm to him. "Who are you?" Zeno heard from behind him. In his arms was Kija quietly taking a nap.

Placing a finger at his lips Zeno spoke. "Don't talk too loudly Seiryuu or you'll awaken brother Hakuyuu from his nap."

The older man looked at Zeno with shock before he squashed the feeling and pointed his sword at him. "I don't care who that brat is, you don't belong here."

"Ouryuu knows this." he said in hopes of calming the angered man. Did he not understand who they are? he wondered. "Hiryuu has returned, so we came here looking for our brother Seiryuu." he looked at the man who's eyes widened. "Has Seiryuu forgotten his brothers Hakuyuu, Ryokuyuu and Ouryuu?"

"What are you-" he paused before lowering his sword slightly. "Ouryuu..." he spoke as if remembering something from a long time ago. "It can't be." he lifted his sword to threaten Zeno once more.

Zeno then grabbed the blade which cut into his skin before his powers activated to heal him. "You can't hurt Zeno, not even with your pretty eyes that Hiryuu loved so much." he said, even as he held the blade of the sword, he no longer could bleed as his scales slowly began to appear on his injured hand. Zeno stood with the sleeping Kija in his other arm.

A noise from above caught their attention as Jae-ha landed nearby with a young boy on his back. "Ao!" the child cried out happily. "Ryokuyuu." he pointed at Jae-ha.

Ao, as they now knew his name, pulled his weapon free of Zeno's hand. "Seiryuu!" he yelled, the boy ducked away from fright.

"Ryokuyuu won't hurt him." Zeno assured him. "We are brothers and brothers protect each other." he stated as he walked passed the man towards Jae-ha. "The Seiryuu's of past may have forgotten the bond between us brothers but little Seiryuu knows it exists." he touched the blue haired child's head.

"Zeno is my name." he said. "I am Ouryuu." he looked at Kija. "This is brother Kija, the Hakuyuu."

"I'm Jae-ha, I'm Ryokuyuu." the green haired boy stated.

"Hiryuu has returned, therefore it's time for the four dragon brothers to return to each other, create a bond that'll last for all our lives; so that we can better protect Hiryuu." he looked at the older man. "You would've been a welcomed addition too, if young Seiryuu hadn't been born to do what you cannot."

"What I cannot..." Ao looked towards the boy he had for the last few years raised. In the back of his mind he could recall the story of Hiryuu and his for guardians. _Was that what Seiryuu was? A guardian to the red dragon?_ He could barely recall the story. _What will happen to Seiryuu if I left with these people? These...children._ "He suppose to protect this village, isn't he?" That's what he'd been told to do, what his predecessor did and so forth. This villagers were to be protected. Weren't they?

Zeno shook his head. "No." he stated. "He has a higher calling, one that'll take him across this country on a journey that'll help rebuild what is being destroyed."

"Tch…" Ao said before looking at the village behind him. "I'll die soon any ways." he looked at Seiryuu. "I didn't want to leave you alone, but it looks like I won't have to worry about that." he looked at his sword before thrusting it into the ground. "Take the sword with you. He'll need it as he gets older." he turned away and walked back to the village unsure what to say when asked where the boy had gone off to.

Zeno looked at the boy. "What is brother Seiryuu's name?"

Behind the mask the golden eyes of the soon-to-be warrior blinked in confusion. "Seiryuu."

 _They didn't even give him a name?_ Zeno wondered as he looked at the boy before smiling. "That's not a name." he explained. "That is your title." the boy looked down with a sense of sadness. "That's okay. We are your brothers and we will give you a great name."

Jae-ha groaned. "Nobody said anything about naming somebody." he complained.

Zeno chuckled. "Zeno is good at naming things." he said. "He'll need time to think up brother Seiryuu's name." he looked off to where the other Seiryuu had gone. "Time to go." he then turned away from the sad village and began to head somewhere else. It was time to visit an old friend of his.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : I hope everybody has had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.


	5. Wind Tribe

**Chapter 5** : _Wind Tribe_

* * *

Pink petals floated down to the ground from up on high. The cheery blossoms were in full bloom this year in the wind tribe as Zeno traveled with the three young boys. Each boy had found something they were good at, like Jae-ha was good at scouting ahead. He'd jump high into the trees, check for dangerous characters, then run back if there were and tell Zeno where they needed to avoid. Kija was good at destroying things or digging into the surface of a mountain in order to make a makeshift shelter for them. Seiryuu, they really needed to agree on a name for the boy, was good at being a night sentry because of his dragon eyes. They all looked up to Zeno for guidance and the Ouryuu was really trying hard to guide them correctly.

He found the village he was looking for and was quite surprised to find it to be a bustling busy city. It has been a long time since I've visited Fuuga. He thought as he swore it couldn't have been more than a decade since the capital was nothing more than a tiny village. Time moves too fast for me. He thought as they walked through the city gates and made there way to the chiefs home. Lazing outside on a large deck with an awning were several young men, a couple women sat off to the side with a young child sitting on a large pillow next to a one eyed older man. Zeno smiled upon seeing the older man. Indeed time had gotten away from Zeno, as the older man could be only one person. Clearing his throat, the group of people turned towards the teen. "Sorry, but I'm looking for Lord Mundok." He said with a usual cheery smile.

The one eyed man's good eye widened as he saw Zeno, clearly recognizing him. "Zeno?" He questioned before chuckling as the memory of the youth appeared in his mind. Standing the older man dismissed everybody to begin their daily training. When the people left Zeno walked up the stone stairs to the deck before being invited to sit. Zeno spotted a small child who seemed to be glaring at him.

Mundok looked at the boy at his side and smirked. "My adopted grandson." He pointed out. "This is Hak." The boy continued to frown and glare at Zeno, not speaking at all. Mundok eyed the golden haired youth very closely and found that he remained unchanged from the last time he had seen him.

"He's cute." Zeno stated as he sensed Jae-ha sit down next to him along with Kija sitting behind him and Seiryuu deciding to look around the busy village. Zeno decided to say what he'd come to say. "I know the wind tribe has not forgotten the old ways nor of Hiryuu." He said as he looked at the boy who was now watching the masked Seiryuu with interest. "He has returned." As Zeno said this Mundok gave a deep sigh.

"The red star." The older male said gaining a nod from Zeno. Looking around Mundok continued. "There was an incident at Hiryuu Castle a year ago. A monk fell on his face and began to cry out that Prince Il's wife would bare the reincarnation of the red dragon. A few months later Il succeeded in planting his seed in her." He took a deep breath. "A week before she gave birth a priest entered the court and spoke to King Joo-nam and told him that a red dragon would be born in seven days, that the four brother dragons would gather together to forge their bond and that in the red dragon's sixteenth year, a darkness would rise up from the King's seed to try and destroy the red dragon, that the Raiju would rise to protect the red dragon first before the brothers came to the red dragon. That the seed and the red dragon would fight each other in three years after the red dragon had found the four brothers and restored the country to it's golden years." He cupped his hand against his chin.

"A prophesy?" Zeno asked gaining a nod.

"Before the red dragon can fight the seed, the dragon must find the sword and the shield which will protect the red dragon in a time of great need." Mundok finished. "Yu-hon has chased all of the priests out of Kuuto. I believe he wanted to kill the priest that gave the prophesy." He smirked. "Then the dragon star appeared in the morning one day and that night Prince Il's wife went into labor. She gave birth to a red haired child. A girl that's been name Yona, for she was born at dawn."

Zeno looked at his charges. Jae-ha looking the most bored while Kija was peering out from behind him curiously. "Can Zeno and his brothers stay awhile?"

"Hmm..." Mundok hummed as he took a sip of his pee warm tea before making a face at it being lukewarm. "You can stay. The wind does remember what you have done for us Ouryuu Zeno."

* * *

Later that night Zeno found himself laying on the roof of his single room home that sat on the edge of the river that flowed near the city of Fuuga. The three younger dragons were asleep in the loft that was above the main room of their home. Kija had been so happy to be able to lay in a real bed after they had cleaned the house. Jae-ha had made a comment on not wanting to stay forever in Fuuga. _He's like Shuten._ He thought remembering how the first Ryokuyuu couldn't stay in one spot for very long. _I've got to start training him in how to defend himself and his brothers. Kija knows how to use his arm, but Jae-ha needs to begin learning a weapon._ He paused in his thinking as he heard a noise. Peering over the roof's edge he spotted the young boy Hak trying to peer into their house from the window. Zeno chuckled as he watched the too short child jump a few times in his attempt in trying to spy on them before the boy gave up and took off back towards his home. Zeno shook his head as he smiled. _Perhaps he can learn to use a staff weapon?_ He wondered before yawning. _I'll think about it. For now Zeno is tired._ He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : Am I the only one that's ever thought that Zeno and Mundok have crossed paths before? It would be cool if as a young chief/general Mundok met Zeno who had just watched Mundok fight an enemy and just happened to also reveal himself accidentally to the wind chief. I think that's why the wind believes in the dragons more so than the other tribes. Just a theory of mine.


	6. Missing Brother

**Chapter 6** : _Missing Brother_

* * *

Hak watched the yellow haired man and the three strange boys that were constantly with him. The green haired boy seemed to watch everyone around them, as if he was expecting trouble and needed to be aware of all exits. The silvery haired boy was constantly gaining attention from all of the older people and would always listen to them and their stories of the old days. He seemed not to have a care in the world which in itself was strange. Then there was the blue haired masked boy who carried himself like he was expecting to be harmed or yelled at. It made Hak wonder if these boys were orphans who had been hurt by the people who were suppose to be their guardians.

Then one day a bunch of older kids decided to pick on the youngest of the group of strange boys. Hak had been watching them, like he always did, when he noticed three of the older boys who were beginning their training as wind soldiers following the group around. At first Hak didn't think much about it, but as the day went on the green haired boy left the other two alone while they listened to another elder. After the elder left the silvery haired boy made a comment on being hungry and going to find Zeno; he assumed he was the older man that took care of them. This left the masked boy alone, and it made him an easy target. Hak guessed that the boy was around his age of four, though he seemed older, like Hak did at times. The older boys, perhaps young teens, began taunting the boy.

"Hey little freak," one said before giving the boy a sudden push, causing him to fall forward. "What's with the mask?"

"I think he thinks he's too good for us to see what he looks like." another laughed.

The third chuckled. "Or perhaps he's so ugly we'd puke." he laughed causing the little boy to whimper as he backed up against the wall of a nearby building.

"How about we find out." the first stated as he reached forward and pulled the boy's mask off just as the child cried out.

"No!" the child yelled when suddenly a body appeared between the older boys and himself.

Hak didn't know how this happened. He hadn't wanted to interfere, after all the boys were twice his own age; but he'd found his legs moving before he could stop them. In his hands was a big stick and as he slid between the young boy and his would-be bullies he brought the thick stick into contact with the first boy's stomach, smashed it over the second boy's head and as it snapped in half he threw the rest with all his might into the groin of the final boy. With all three down he spun around to the younger boy, who's golden eyes caught his blue's for a split second before he grabbed the kid's wrist and ran like a bat out of hell towards the one place he knew they'd be safe.

* * *

 _Seiryuu_. Zeno thought as he ran through the early afternoon crowds. When Kija had returned to their home without the blue haired boy Zeno thought perhaps he had gone off to find Jae-ha. So after lunch the two brothers made their way yo the river where Jae-ha spent his afternoons listening to the gossiping women as they cleaned their family garments. He saw the green haired boy standing on a boulder in the middle of the river. His boots gone and stood barefoot, dragon left for all to see. The women were smiling at the youth as he jumped to the other side of the river bank hooked up a pilot system and rope before jumping across once again and finished hooking it up on their side. The older women went over him and patted his head, pulled a cheek and gave him joyous praises as he put his boots back on. No comment was ever said about his leg.

Jae-ha then noticed Zeno and bowed towards the women before running off towards the older dragon warrior. "Is Seiryuu with you Jae-ha?" Zeno asked gaining a shake of the head.

Jae-ha closed his eyes and focused on the youngest member of their family. "He's nearby though." he replied.

Zeno nodded. "Zeno knows this." he looked worriedly around himself trying to figure out where the young boy had gone.

"Jea-ha, you look from the sky." Kija said before looking at Zeno. "We'll look on foot."

"If we don't spot him in an hour, we'll meet back here by the river." Jae-ha finished gaining nods from the other two. As the two ran back towards the city, Jae-ha looked at the women. "Ladies, I have a request to ask you." he said with a small smile. "It would seem my youngest brother has gotten himself lost."

"Oh dear." A older woman said, her long grey hair was pulled back into a long braid at her back.

"What's his name?" another asked.

"Its a bit odd," Jae-ha admitted. We really need a name for him. "He goes by Seiryuu." he said. "He wears a mask and has light blue hair."

"Oh!" gasped a younger woman who had been listening nearby. Her basket of dirty clothes were at her feet. "I saw a young boy that matches that description." she said, her voice soft and gentle.

"Well spit it out Mia." the elder woman said sounding slightly annoyed that the younger girl wasn't talking faster.

"I'm sorry!" the girl gasped. "I saw him with three older boys who seemed to be picking on him. I was going to interveen when the young little lord came running in to help the boy."

"Little lord?" Jae-ha inquired from the elderly woman.

"Oh, that would be Lord Mundok's grandson." she explained with a bright smiled. "He adopted the boy only last year." she explained.

"His name is Lord Hak." Mia explained to Jae-ha who gave a nod.

"Where did he take my brother?" he inquired from her.

She shook her head. "I don't know." she said sadly. "Lord Hak is known to go off by himself and rarely stays in one place long enough to be noticed."

"He likes to watch people." the second elderly woman said having not spoken in a while. "He's known to watch people from the city wall. If he's not there, he's more than likely at the manor's garden hiding from Lord Mundok."

Turning away from them he went to leave. "Thanks ladies!" he yelled out before launching himself off into the air.

"I'll never get use to that." the elder said with a hum.

"Trudy." the second gave a chuckle.

"Kinda reminds me of that one green haired man that came here sixty odd years ago." she said with a slight blush.

"Is that why you let him listen in on our conversations?" Mia inquired causing the other two older women to chuckle at the fond memories.

"Perhaps." they both answered in unison before bursting out laughing.

* * *

Seiryuu felt him arm being tugged this way and that as he was forced into run. _Zeno_. he thought as fear began well up into his chest. _Kija. Jae-ha_. Tears began to form in his eyes. He was getting scared, really scared. He was suddenly yanked once again. _I can't use my power._ he thought. _Ao said to never ever use it_. He turned head as they passed through a large crowd of people. His arm was once again pulled suddenly as they came to a stop. Seiryuu's golden eyes widened as be saw two men fighting with spears, the crowd cheering as they seemed to be trying to kill each other, but Seiryuu saw the movements for what they were; a training exercise. It was then he recalled who the one man was. "Mundok." he mumbled.

"Gramps use to be on par with Lord Yu-Hon in strength." Hak stated quietly to Seiryuu. "Nobody will hurt you if you hang around here instead of the markets." He then looked around the parapet that they had come to near the bridge that led into the city and decided to move over to the rock bridge and sit there. "By the way, I'm Hak." he pulled himself up onto the rock ledge of the bridge before helping the blue haired boy up onto the bridge as well. He then noticed how he was trying to conceal his eyes. "Does the sun hurt your eyes? Is that why you wear that mask?" he asked him.

Security lifted his head a bit as he let his legs swing over the edge of the bridge. "No." he answered softly before pointing at his eyes. Lifting his eyes so Hak could see them he continued to speak. "When I was born my eyes killed my mother." he looked away. "I'm dangerous."

Hak thought for a moment. "So if your eyes are covered you're not as dangerous?" he inquired but only got a shrug as an answer. Hak pulled his obi off from his waist before standing up and wrapping it around Seiryuu's eyes. "There!" he said with pride. "Better?" Seiryuu gave a nod. "What's your name?"

"Seiryuu." he replied as he turned his head towards the fight.

"That's not a name." Hak said with a laugh. The boy sighed. He knew this. He continued to watch he fight as Hak went quiet. Hak watched the boy next to him for a moment. _I think he knows what they're doing even with his eyes covered. He watches them like a guardian who can see in the darkness. He's like a silent guardian._ His thoughts turned to what he'd see at night. _Stars, the moon._ His brows turned inwardly. _A silent guardian._ He gasped. _The moon!_ He smiled at the boy. "I know what I'll call you." he said with a bright smile as he lean back on his hands as he watched his adopted grandfather fight another challenger. "Shin-ah. It means moonlight. You're like a silent guardian, like the moon that watches over everybody at night. It is a guardian of light in the darkness." he looked at the boy whose mouth was slightly agape.

"Shin-ah." he repeated the word with his own lips. _A name_. He gave me a name! "Are-" Hak cocked his head at him when he spoke. "Are you my friend now?"

"Friend?" Hak questioned before smiling happily. "Sure!"

 _My friend gave me a name_. He thought with some joy in his heart.

Hak sighed as the grown ups seemed to be leaving the area now that his gramps was done showing off his skills. "Guess it's time to go back." he then froze at the sight of the three older boys making their at towards them. Hak grabbed Shin-ah's wrist. "Let's go!" He jumped from the stone bridge, the two landed on the shoulders of Mundok. _Nice timing_. he thought with a wry smile.

Mundok on the other hand was about to loose his balance at having two four year old boys jumping onto his shoulders from the distance they had done so and promptly fell on his ass. Both boys had jumped off just as the grown up fell down. Hak looked down at his grandfather and smiled cheekily at him. "Yo, gramps." he chuckled at the one eyed older man. "You lost your balance."

"Hak." he groaned having not expected the young boy. His good eye noticing his grandson missing his obi, thus his jacket was open revealing pink skin. Next to him was the blue haired boy he'd seen with Ouryuu Zeno a few days back when they had begun to live in Fuuga. He sat up before turning towards the two boys. "Who's this boy?" he asked as he slowly stood.

"My friend Shin-ah." he said as his grandfather went to take off the obi from around the boy's head only Hak to stop him. "We ran into some bad guys. They took Shin-ah's mask. The sun hurts his eyes."

"I see." he bent down to Shin-she's height. "You're Zeno's little brother, right?" he saw how the boy held onto Hak's hand and chuckled. "Let's get you home then." Shin-ah nodded.

* * *

Kija clung to Zeno's hand as they walked out of the city at sundown. They had looked for Seiryuu everywhere, but all they could tell was that he was still here, just they couldn't find him. It made Hakuyuu very frustrated. He looked at his clawed hand and thought that he might need it, but without a direction in which to go, they had no choice but to return home. Jae-ha flew overhead looking everywhere as they made their way home; but alas, even Ryokuyuu couldn't find their brother. Kija wanted to cry, but he held himself in check.

When they climbed the hill to their home they found Jae-ha standing in the doorway looking in. The other two came to the doorway and found Seiryuu passed out on his bedding with another boy sleeping next to him. "Ouryuu Zeno." all three turned towards the voice and saw the Wind tribe leader sitting at their table with three empty bowls sitting out and a pot of stew sitting near the fireplace fire.

Zeno sighed as he saw that Seiryuu was safe and was where he belonged.

Kija, on the other hand was so happy to see that his brother was safe he jumped onto the futon next to Seiryuu and pulled him into his arms. "Brother." he said before he began crying.

Jae-ha too felt tears begin to spring forth as he sat at the foot of the bed and hugged the blue haired boy when Kija pulled away.

"We've been looking for him all afternoon." Zeno explained as he slid down the wall with exhaustion. "Zeno was scared we lost him."

Mundok gave a nod. "A parent's worst nightmare come true." he said. "The boy never said he was lost. He got cornered by some bullies and Hak took him to safety without thinking he may get the boy lost in the process." he looked at his sleeping grandson. "First time Hak pulled something like that," he shook his head at the memory. "I thought for sure I had lost him. Spent all day looking for him, only to come back that night to boy eating dinner and covered in mud. I realized after that, that boys need space to be themselves, but don't think for a second that I won't wallop him if he ever does something like that again." he looked at the boys and chuckled at the youngest seemed to retelling what he'd done all day. "Also," he began as he looked at Jae-ha. "I want your brother there to start coming to train with the boy's his age. He needs the training. Plus when he comes, he can bring the youngest there for Hak to have a friend his own age."

Zeno looked at his brothers and gave a nod. "Zeno will agree to this." he looked at Jae-ha who looked like he was ready for a long nap.

Mundok stood up, walked over to the bed, picked Hak up and turned to leave. "Mundok." the blue haired boy called out his name.

"You be a good boy for your brother, Shin-ah." Mundok said with a chuckle. "No more adventures with you going missing." Golden eyes; the obi having fallen off as he had slept, stared wordlessly at the older man before watching him walk off.

After Mundok had left all three of his brothers looked at him curiously. "Shin-ah?" Zeno questioned him only to get a blush from the young boy. He chuckled. "It's perfect." After that the incident wasn't spoken about for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : Whoa! This was my longest chapter for this story. I think it almost came out to 3,000 words. Phew! Now this chapter was a bit more serious than the last ones due to it having a bit of bullying in it which led to a missing child. Those are of the worst things that could happen to a child. It's a parent's nightmare. With that said, Zeno got a real taste as to what parenthood entails. Oh! A good thing that came of this was Seiryuu gaining his name. ^_^ I liked how I had Hak come to his name. Did you?


	7. Training Day

**Chapter 7** : _Training Day_

* * *

Jae-ha felt the other boy's eyes upon him, starring at his strange colored hair. He sighed deeply because he really didn't want to be here, but Zeno had insisted that he learn how to defend himself and his brothers. Jae-ha had always figured he could learn that later on, after all he was almost twelve. _Couldn't it wait until after he turned into a teenager?_ Then to top it off he had to bring Shin-ah with him. _Really? The kid was only four, let him be a kid._

They had come to a round training building that was missing it's roof. The arena was large on the inside, so much so there could've been horse races in it. The building had stands for people to sit in to watch. It was like a big colosseum, only it was used for training soldiers for the wind tribe and not for fake battles or tournaments.

As they stood waiting to be told what to do the blue haired boy stood next to Jae-ha in the arena when Mundok noticed the boy next to him. "Shin-ah." he spoke the boy's name causing him to look towards the older man, his eyes once again covered by a wooden mask that Zeno had made for him. The older man gestured for him to come towards him. Shin-ah seeing that it was the man from the other day, he ran forward happily.

"Isn't that the little freak we were chasing the other day?" asked one of the boys near Jae-ha.

"Should've known he'd be related to the green haired freak." snickered another.

"Tch." the noise came out of Jae-ha's mouth even as he bit his lip and fisted his hands to stop himself from turning around and punching the boys. _Idiots_. he thought as he closed his eyes. _If only there knew what kind of power us freaks actually held. They wouldn't make fun of us._ His shoulders fell when an image of the four of them appeared in his mind with people running away from them. _Shin-ah and Kija would be sad if that happened though_. he mused as he watched his brother approach the older man.

Mundok bent down and pointed to the stands. "Hak is over there waiting for you." he whispered to the boy.

Shin-ah gave an excited nod before running off to the side of the arena and disappeared into the stands. Jae-ha watched this happen and sighed, happy that the boy wouldn't be joining them yet. "Okay boys," Mundok began. "I'm going to be pitting you against each other to see how your hand to hand combat is, no biting and no kicking; just use your hands in this exercise."

The boys began to pair off leaving Jae-ha by himself. _Why am I not surprised?_ he wondered as he looked at the paired children around him when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. Looking over his shoulder towards the stranger he found a tall teen standing there, his hair was a shade or two lighter than Zeno's but not quite as white as Kija's.

"Guess we'll be paired together kid." he said with a smile, his eyes seeming to closed. "I'm Han-tae."

"Why are your eyes closed?" Jae-ha inquired not sure what to think of it.

Han-tae's eyes opened to reveal milky white eyes which cause Jae-ha's own to widen in shock. "I'm blind." he said with a chuckle. "Is your hair really green?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah." Jae-ha replied as he and the other boy began to circle each other. Jae-ha noticed that the boy seemed to shuffle his feet to ensure he stayed on level ground.

"Cool." was the other boy's response before he swung his fist at Jae-he's face.

Green eyes widened in shock at the speed in which the blind boy moved. Jae-ha moved backwards in order to make him miss, only for a second fist to come out of nowhere and hit him in the jaw. Jae-ha shook his head a bit before smirking. Bringing his own fists up he swung them at the other boy, who dodged expertly when he grabbed one of Jae-hat's fists mid swing and pulled the younger boy forward. His fist connected with Jae-ha's stomach causing him to cough spit up before he began to fall onto his hands and knees.

Han-tae bent down and held his hand out with as he let loose a chuckle. "There's a trick to this." he said helping the younger boy up. "You make too much noise when you move. Therefore I always know where you are." he smiled at Jae-ha before pointing at the boots the boy was wearing. "I can teach you how to be a stealthier fighter."

"How?" Jae-ha inquired with true curiosity. He knew Zeno was stealthy and could sneak up behind any of the boys and give then a scare.

"Meet me by the falls in two days and we'll spend three days out in the woods and I'll guarantee you that you'll be able to even sneak up behind me without me even knowing you're there." Han-tae stated with a glee filled look on his face.

Jae-ha raised an eyebrow at this boy, but decided that he'd trust him; for now. _Zeno did say I needed to make friends my own age_. he thought before nodding. "Sure." he said after a moment of weighing the pros and cons of doing this. "Where are the falls?" he asked scratching the side of his cheek. He really didn't know where anything was when it came to the countryside outside the city.

The other boy began to laugh. "You must be new around here to not know where the falls are." he said still chuckling. Jae-ha felt sweat drop down the back of his neck at that comment. "Meet me by the east gate, we'll leave in the early morning and be back by nightfall in three days." he stated as he brought his fist back up. "For now, try to actually hit me."

Jae-ha snorted. "Smartass." he grumbled as he began to move once again.

* * *

 **M-Angel** :I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter. December is almost upon us and yet we are still getting spring-like weather, not that I'm complaining. ^_^ I've just got some free time right now, so I thought I'd post this.


	8. Training in the Woods

**Chapter 8** : _Training in the Woods_

* * *

Jae-ha waited by the eastern gate of the city. He was early, by an hour he supposed. It was still dark and the morning light had yet to peek over the nearby mountain tops. He kicked a few pebbles away as he waited for Han-tae. The blind boy had promised to take him into the woods and teach him how to be stealthy. He actually felt excited and that frightened him. He'd never really allowed himself to get close to others his own age due to not being able to trust them. Zeno he trusted because he was like a brother and because he was a dragon, like himself. Kija and now Shin-ah, he trusted much the same way; but an outsider? He had issue's trusting. Upon hearing a noise Jae-ha turned his head to the side and spotted the light haired boy. He'd trust him for now, but should that trust be broken...

"Jae-ha?" Han-tae questioned as he heard the shuffling of feet ahead of him.

"Yeah. It's me." Jae-ha answered as he turned towards the boy.

"Great. Let's get going." He said with a slight smile at the younger boy.

As the two walked in silence towards the rolling hills and mountains that were outside of the city, Jae-ha watch how certain the other boy was in his long strides as he walked. _He doesn't even need a cane to tell him if the ground is level or not._ Jae-ha thought as they veered off of the main path into another one that led into the deeper parts of the forest, where most didn't tread.

"Do you hear anything?" He asked Jae-ha after a while of walking in silence.

"Just us walking." He answered.

"Yes, but what do you hear?" He asked him once again.

Jae-ha frown as he took another step, this time listening as to what his feet were doing. "Crunching." He answered.

"What's crunching?" Han-tae asked as he felt something against his leg. Placing his hand out, he felt that a tree had fallen into their path and slowly began to climb over it.

"Uh." Jae-ha began as he watched him. "Leaves and twigs." He said as he followed the others boy's example.

"Yes." He replied as he continued to walk ahead of Jae-ha. "What else do you hear?"

Jae-ha cocked his head as he tried to figure out what else was making noise. "Uh.." He felt the wind against his face, but heard the branches up above creaking as they swayed gently. "The trees." He answered.

Han-tae smiled at Jae-ha's answer. "Very good." He continued to walk with Jae-ha behind him. Coming to a cliff Jae-ha watched how Han-tae moved his foot to feel ahead of him only to move to the side and around some trees before finding another straight path.

 _I understand why the leaves making noise would be important, but why would the trees matter?_ Jae-ha wondered as the two entered a silent phase of their journey.

A couple hours later Jae-ha found himself starring in awe at a series of waterfalls. Three falls fell from a single cliff that was high above them. The first fall formed a huge pool that created the two other falls and as the morning light hit the water a series of rainbows shot off around the valley they were in. It was beautiful and seemed otherworldly.

"I'm told this is the most beautiful place in all of the Wind tribe, if not all of Kouka." Han-tae stated. "At times like this I wish I could see it."

"The waterfalls are beautiful." Jae-ha stated. "The first fall is small and creates a large pool of water that's formed from what looks like rocks and earth. The other two falls are formed on either side of the pool and fall into the lake ahead of us. The water sparkles like a million diamonds and rainbows are reflecting off of the falls from the light of the sun." He explained what he was seeing. "Every imaginable color is bouncing around the valley." Jae-ha found himself suddenly wanting to see other beautiful things. "It's beautiful."

Han-tae smiled as he breathed in the fresh, cool morning air. He placed his bag on the ground. "There should be a cave nearby." He stated as he looked around the area.

Jae-ha scanned the area and spotted the cave. "Found it!" He called out as he dumped his items at the mouth of it. It wasn't a very big cave, but it was large enough for a couple of kids or an adult or two to keep warm and sleep comfortably in.

"Good." Han-tae stated as he placed his pack on the ground. "Have you ever hunted Jae-ha?"

"No." He replied. "Zeno has taught me and my brothers how to fish; but we haven't hunted yet."

"To hunt you need to be stealthy and if you aren't, then you don't eat." He answered. "I'm going to teach you how to make a bow. Afterwards we will hunt with it."

"Okay." He responded as he looked out of the mouth of the cave. "You want me to get some wood to make a bow with?"

"Do you know what type of wood to look for?" Han-tae inquired with a smile. At Jae-ha's silence he figured had his answer. "We're looking for some sturdy, but flexible wood that will be strong enough for us to use over and over again." He stated. "We also need some sharp and pointed stones for the arrow heads."

Jae-ha nodded. I knew that part about the arrow heads, just not the bow. He thought as the two began to look around the forest floor for the items needed. Jae-ha found six usable pieces of stone, while Han-tae came bag with a large log. Sitting down on the ground, the young man took out some tools from his bag and began to carve into the wood as Jae-ha was put to work in making usable arrowheads. Jae-ha found that it took most of the day to make the items they'd use for hunting and once finished with his items, his fingers hurt from sharpening the rocks. He had no idea how this was to be a part of his training, but he kept silent. It was early evening by the time the bow could be tested. The strings were put into place and after three shot with Jae-ha's arrows, it was deemed usable.

* * *

The two young men walked through the forest, Han-tae kept silent as they stalked a deep. Jae-ha had spotted the hoof prints in the ground and had described them to his companion. Upon finding them to be fresh tracks the two began following them. It's was dusk when they found the creature standing by a huge moss covered ancient looking tree. Jae-ha was the one who would shoot the deer, Han-tae had decided this at the last minute or so it seemed.

Jae-ha pulled the bow string and arrow back, aiming for the animal's chest. As he breathed out, he released the arrow that made a whoosh sound as it shot out towards the creature. A moment before it could hit the deer, the animal moved quickly; however it wasn't quick enough as Han-Tate threw his hunting knife at the animal. Jae-ha's eyes widened as he watched the animal fall to the ground with the knife lodged into it's neck. The noise it made as it went down made Jae-ha want to never see such a thing happen again.

"Is it dead?" He heard Han-tae ask.

"I think so." He answered with a bit of shame in his voice.

"You made a noise." Han-tae stated as he approached the dead animal. "That's why it ran and why I was forced to throw my knife."

"I made a mistake?" Jae-ha questioned not having realized that he had even moved from his spot when he'd fired the arrow.

"Yeah." Han-tae replied as he felt the animal as he searched for his knife. Finding it, he pulled it from the animal's body, which jerked when he had done so. Taking the knife he cut the animal's neck deeply to allow it to bleed before he began to gut the creature. Jae-ha coughed and held his nose as the stench hit him. "I know it's not a beautiful sight to see." Han-tae responded. "I can't see it, but I can smell and feel it."

"Yeah, it's not pretty." Jae-ha agreed with his statement. He then turned to look away.

"Don't look away Jae-ha." The green haired boy looked at the other boy with wide eyes. "This animal lost it's life so you could eat. Respect it."

Jae-ha sighed. "Fine. But I don't have to like it." He mumbled before he began helping in cleaning the animal.

* * *

Jae-ha was glaring at Han-tae as he looked at the hanging deer. The young man had food already packed and they weren't even gonna eat the deer. "Why'd we even do that?" He questioned him.

"You needed to learn how to hunt and my family needs the meat." He answered. "It'll take a day or two for the blood to drain fully from a full grown deer before it can be eaten." Jae-ha scowled at him. "Tomorrow we'll work on your fighting techniques." He stood up and placed a bowl next to Jae-ha. "Your hand to hand combat really needs to worked on." He said as he began to eat the stew. "Then we'll hunt for some fowl. Those are supper hard to get. You really have to be quiet, otherwise they can fly off and I can't shoot them once that happens."

"You can shoot a bird that's flying?" Jae-ha inquired.

Han-tae shook his head. "Nope." He stated. "Can't shoot what you can't hear or see."

"I keep forgetting that you're blind." Jae-ha responded. "You can do everything everybody else can do, you're sometimes even better than others."

Han-tae smiled softly. "Thanks." He said with sincerity.

* * *

The next morning Jae-ha found himself awakened by his companion and after they ate the two began hand to hand training. Jae-ha really didn't like this type of fighting, but could see it's benefits. As his feet were taken out from under him for the umpteenth time Jae-ha found that Han-tae was so much faster than himself.

 _How the hell am I to beat him if I can't catch him?_ He wondered as he watched the other's hands come at him once again and once again he was punched in the stomach. Reaction on instinct his dragon leg came up and kicked the other in the chin sending Han-tae flying in the air and landing hard on his back. Jae-ha blanched at having possibly hurt the other boy when suddenly Han-tae sat up with a bleeding nose and a grin on his face that made Jae-ha's stomach churn with unease.

"I knew you were holding back!" He yelled excitedly at Jae-ha before charging the younger boy.

 _Oh dear._ Jae-ha thought before jumping out of the way. His dragon leg sending him over the others head. Landing on the ground a few feet away, Jae-ha turned towards him and saw the other was looking confused.

"Jae-ha?" Han-tae said his name questioningly. "Where'd you go?"

Jae-ha raised an eyebrow at him. _Huh?_ He wondered.

Then remembered what Han-tae had said the night before. _Can't shoot what you can't hear or see._

 _He can't sense me when I jump._ He thought as a smile appeared on his face. "I'm here." He stated causing the boy to turn around with shock on his face.

"How'd you do that?" He asked incredulously.

"I jumped quietly." Jae-ha answered. It wasn't a lie. He really did jump.

After that Jae-ha began to use his leg more in their training. Jumping, not too high, into the air and surprise attacking from behind. By the time night fell neither boy wanted to do anything but rest. Thankfully there was plenty of fish in the lake where the falls were and they caught their fill.

Upon returning back to Fuuga the next day Jae-ha found himself greeted by his brothers as Han-tae and him were carrying the deer back to the city. Jae-ha followed Han-tae to the butcher shop where he was introduced to Han-tae's uncle and aunt and their four daughters who all began to coo at how cute the green haired boy was, much to Jae-ha's chagrin. Han-tae's laughter however made Jae-ha glare at the blind boy as the older girls began pulling his cheeks and petting his hair like he was some exotic pet. At the entrance of the shop Zeno was shaking with his laughter at Jae-ha's look of distress as Kija and Shin-ah went to rescue their older brother.

On the way home Zeno was carrying some of the meat from the shop, having gained it in exchange for the large deep Jae-ha had helped catch. "You have fun Ryokuyuu?" Zeno inquired.

Having not been called that in long time Jae-ha looked at him. "Yeah. It was fun." He said before smiling. "Hey, Zeno, did you know I could jump as high as the clouds?" He asked.

Zeno smiled at the question. "Yes." He stated. "However, the coming down is the tricky part."

"No kidding." Jae-ha replied as he recalled having gotten tangled in the trees. Explaining that one to Han-tae had been really hard.

Meanwhile inside the Wind manor sitting on a large futon in his bedroom, Hak was looking at book with the legend of the creation of the country inside it. The story had him enchanted because of the four warriors and suddenly the child wonder if maybe, maybe this story wasn't really just a story but actual facts. He swore the warriors in this story reminded him of the four strange boys that had recently come to live in his city. Turning his head towards the blond haired boy next to him, he wondered if he should tell Su-won about them or if he should keep them a secret. Looking at the book once more, he recalled how much Lord Yu-hon hated anything that had anything to do with the Kami. Deciding for now to keep silent, he put the book away and laid down to go to sleep. In his dreams he saw ancient warriors protecting his country, fighting imaginary battles throughout the night hours.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : This was a fun chapter to write. There is only one chapter left!


	9. Fate Changes

**Chapter 9** : _Fate Changes_

* * *

The years began to pass by slowly as first Jae-ha began his training for the Wind tribe. After his time with Han-tae in the forest he had begun to train more and more with his legs. Kicking his enemies and sending them flying through the air began to be great fun for the young man. He and Han-tae became close friends and As puberty hit, Jae-ha learned how to be very smooth with the young ladies in his friends family. Usually gaining a hit over the head by their butcher of a father or a yell from Han-tae's mother. His sister's loved the attention and Han-tae would laugh when the girls would turn the tables on his friend and get the younger boy to stutter.

When it came to fighting, the two boys were unmatched. Han-tae became a fast master of any spear type weapon; while Jae-ha found that he loved throwing knives or even stars, though he mostly stuck to the daggers. By the time the green haired young man had turned nineteen his brothers had all become apart of the Wind tribe army, like himself.

Kija, as it turned out, was really good at smashing things. He could take out a full grown tree without a problem. The first time he'd done so had been an accident when he'd heard young Hak call him a white snake from a bridge. At the time he had been punching a tree to test his strength. After hearing that nickname though, the tree went flying into a nearby field. Hak still teased Hakuyuu with the name, but usually did it at a distance and never close enough for Kija to hit him with his dragon hand. Beside this though, Kija was fiercely protective of his brothers and became a master at hand to hand combat. He was now to the point that even Zeno couldn't defeat him and he was only fourteen.

Shin-ah became a master swordsman. When Hak one day stated that he was going to stop playing around and actually pay attention to his studies, the youngest dragon warrior began to copy his closest friend in what he was doing. At first it was cute to see the two boys studying things together. Whatever one learned, the other wasn't too far behind in learning the same thing. When Hak gained his first weapon; a Hsu Quandao, Zeno gave Shin-ah his predecessors sword. The Two young men watched each other's backs and helped the other become stronger in their techniques. So by the time both boys were twelve years old they both were ridiculously strong with their weapons and both were confident enough in using them that they were unafraid to take on older opponents.

Zeno on the other hand, was sad to watch his brothers age so quickly. To one who never aged it felt like he blinked and everybody had gotten older, wiser and he was once again frozen and unable to age with them. He neither needed the training his brothers needed, nor did he want it. As a bring who had lived over two millenniums he had already been taught how to use every imaginable weapon that was in existence. He didn't need to learn any fighting hand to hand techniques because he already knew them from Shuten or Guen having taught them to him. He helped Mundok with security at the entrances of the city, but that was all he was needed for. His days usually were spent watching over his brothers, helping them become stronger warriors or being on watch at one of the four gates that lead into the city.

The four brothers were well known by everybody in and around Fuuga. The knowledge of what they were was the worst kept secret amongst the Wind tribe as most everybody knew of the dragon warriors in one way or another.

Then came the tournament's and soon everybody would know who these four warriors were.

* * *

"I don't know why I have to come." Hak complained as he rode on his horse, Shin-ah was on the back of the beast allowing Hak to hold onto the reins.

"It'll be fun." Shin-ah stated from behind him as he pulled the blue material of his mask over his eyes a bit tighter.

"You keep pulling that and Ayume will get made if it rips." Hak teased his friend.

"Material itches." was his response.

"I can't wait to see the capital." Kija said as he rode his horse behind Hak with Zeno sitting behind him.

"Nothing special about the place." Hak stated blankly.

"Its where the King resides!" Kija yelled at the boy.

"I repeat, nothing special." Hak stated.

"You impudent..." Kija began only to feel Zeno's chuckle behind him.

"Hakuyuu, don't let his teasing ruin your happy mood." Zeno said cheerfully. "Mister loves teasing my brothers."

Hak smirked. "No, just white snake." he forced his horse into a gallop as soon as Kija's screech began. A shadow passed overhead causing Hak to look up and smile when he spotted Jae-ha.

Jae-ha loved feeling the breeze on his face as he flew through the sky. Years of training had allowed him to learn how fast he could go and how far he could jump without being seen by those he didn't trust or know. Landing on the Wind General's carriage he sat on the roof as Kuuto came into sight. He couldn't fly any longer without risking his and his brother's safety. "Its quite beautiful around here." he said not expecting an answer.

"Wait until we get into the city." Mundok answered from below.

"Is it traditional for the generals to ride into the city by carriage?" he asked the older man.

"Tch." was his answer. "You being a smartass again boy?"

Jae-ha laughed at the question. "You know me too well Chief."

Mundok grunted. "I thought so." he stated. "The elders want me to take precautions on this tribe. There have been rumors of rebellions starting up and I'm under strict orders not to engage."

"So they stuck you in a carriage thinking it would stop you from ordering your men around." he said. "That's just stupid." Jae-ha felt the wind tease his long hair as it whipped around his face. He then saw another carriage entering the city ahead of them with the fire emblem on it. "The fire tribe has arrived ahead of us."

"How far ahead?" Mundok asked with a frown.

"Not too far." was Jae-hat's response as they entered the eastern gate into Kuuto. Fancy, fancy. he thought as he saw the banners decorating the city gate. The town was filled with banners and bright flowers. Young entertainers were dancing in the streets with cups for people to place money in. Beautiful women stood at the corners wearing red dresses and looking for company.

"Stay away from the red light district." Mundok muttered.

 _Damn it._ Jae-ha cursed mentally. "Yeah, yeah. I already know that." Jae-ha grumbled. A chuckle was his answer before his attention was once again captured by the sights of the city.

* * *

The tournaments didn't offer much of a challenge for the young men from the Wind tribe. The first round had the younger generation from all five tribes fighting each other on one on one fights. Next round had the winners of those fights fighting each other once again. By the end of those fights though five fighters stood undefeated. Han-tae, Jae-ha, Shin-ah, Kija and Hak; all five were from the Wind tribe and all five could not be defeated by the other tribe's candidates.

The final round brought on a new twist, they would fight a general and not any general, but General Lee Geun-tae. The earth general was by far the strongest General in all of Kouka and he loved to fight. To those who knew him found this twist not a huge surprise, however what was a surprise was when all five accepted the challenge.

Han-tae was first up with his duel trident spears in each hand. His milky white eyes creeped the general out, but didn't deter him from fighting the blind young man. Han-tae could hear the general move around with quick reflexes. The sound of the general's sword moving through the air gave his position away at all times. The only thing that was distracting to him was the crowds loud screams. The pole of his trident spear vibrated every time he brought it up to defend himself. Then he saw a moment to make a move and took it before it was too late. He thrusted one spear downward snagging the generals foot causing Geun-tae to let a curse loose. The second strident came up to take out Geun-tae's sword but he miscalculated how the edge was from him and as he twisted around to attack the general his foot lost its balance and he fell.

Jae-ha was shocked at first before he snorted and began to laugh. Han-tae himself began to laugh at his own stupidity as the general just shook his head and dislodged the trident that had captured his leg. "Good fight kid." he told him as he handed him his weapon back. Han-tae bowed and left the area still chuckling.

Kija came up next, the fourteen year old was tugging on the bandages on his hand to ensure they didn't come loose during the fight. "You sure you're up for this Kija?" Zeno asked, sounding a bit worried.

The silver haired youth nodded vigorously at his brothers question. "I want to do this." he said excitedly, his voice squeaking slightly from his excitement.

Kija walked out onto the stage and brought up his fists. Don't hurt him too badly. No hitting with the right hand. he kept saying to himself. He didn't want to kill the general, just defeat him in a fair fight.

Geun-tae saw the stance this boy took up and set his weapon aside. He smirked. _It's been awhile since I've had a good hand to hand fight._ he thought as he ran at the youth to punch him in the face. Kija's right hand caught the offending hand as the left punched the general in the stomach. Next Geun-tae pulled himself back, at the same time Kija moved forward and swung his fist at the general again, who dodged the attack before slamming a fist into Kija's side. The young man winced at the strength put into that attack.

"Why isn't Kija using his right hand in this fight?" Hak inquired, Geun-tae heard the question but not the answer.

 _Is the kid stronger with his right?_ he questioned himself. As he dodged a kick to the face, he pulled himself back to take a quick look at the kid and saw bandages wrapped around his right arm. _Is this kid hurt?_ he wondered as he went in for a punch, only for Kija to use his right hand; which squeezed Geun-tae's fist slightly. _No. He's got a lot of strength in that arm._ He suddenly spotted something on Kija's fingers. _Are those..._ he began to wonder when he brought his second fist down upon the youths face and punched him hard. Kija went flying across the stage knocked momentarily unconscious.

"Kija!" Shin-ah cried out.

He was pulled off stance by a couple of healers, who began to look the teen over when Kija's eye snapped open and he sat up. "I'm fine!" he cried out even as a bruise began to form on his cheek.

Geun-tae touched his chin as he waited for his next challenger. _That boy._ he thought as he looked back at the memory. _There's no doubt._ He had scales on his fingers, talons as nails. He turned around in time to see the boy sit with the rest of the tribe. _He's a dragon. I'd put my money on it._ He smiled at those thoughts.

Jae-ha looked at Shin-ah. "Want to join me?" he asked him, gaining a nod, the two young men walked onto the stage.

"Oh?" the general questioned as he saw the two young boys on stage. "Two at once?" he asked with a smirk spreading across his face.

Jae-ha smiled, one of his fangs slipping out onto his lips. "Why not?" he asked the general.

"Bring it on boys!" Geun-tae yelled with a laugh.

Shin-ah pulled his sword off of his back, the sword seemed massive compared to his young body. Jae-ha pulled out three of his knives as the general once again picked up his sword. Shin-ah charged the general as Geun-tae raced towards the youth. Jae-ha threw one of his daggers behind the general, a thin metal string attached to his hand remained invisible at the moment. The two swords clanged together as they came into contact. Jae-ha threw a second dagger, this one scratching Geun-tae's ankle, but was otherwise thought to be ineffective. Shin-ah pushed the general back before Jae-ah used his leg and kicked the general further back into his trap. The strings of wire getting tangled with the general's arm and leg, so when Jae-ha pulled the string taunt the general was suddenly pinned down.

"Fuck." Geun-tae cursed.

"Daddy! Did you see that?" a cry was heard causing Jae-ha to feel his blood freeze. At the same moment Shin-ah froze in place.

 _No. It can't...be._ Jae-ah thought as he looked in the stands. Not seeing anything he felt his pulse quicken as he looked back at the laid out general who struggled against his wire.

"I think we won." Shin-ah stated.

Geun-tae started to chuckle as he was effectively pinned by to very strong thin lines of wire. _That boy was smart. I didn't even see his trap being set._ "I surrender." he said still chuckling.

Jae-ha loosened the line, which allowed the general to escape. "Your turn Hak." he said as he jumped down from the stage.

As Hak jumped up to fight the general Jae-ha lost interest in the fight and began searching for whoever that had been that had caused his blood to freeze like it had. He didn't get very far when he realized he was being followed. Turning around he found Kija following him, the younger was rubbing his arm. "You felt it too?" he questioned the silver haired man.

Kija nodded. "My arm is burning like the blood in it is beginning to boil, but..."

"I see red." Shin-ah's voice caused them both to look at him.

"He's near." Jae-ha stated as he began to feel fearful.

Kija saw the look of panic begin to fill his brothers eyes. "We won't let him hurt you." he said. "Zeno will protect us."

Jae-ha sighed. _Zeno has said that my predecessor was wrong. That our master would never hurt or force us to do things we weren't ready to do._ he thought to himself as the three of them began to walk around the stands, looking for the one who was making them feel this way. It was then Shin-ah pointed to a red haired young girl who was running around in fancy clothes, a blond boy was next to her as they pushed through the crowds with a dark haired man behind them.

The three of them got closer to the red haired child, every step causing Jae-ha's heart to accelerate a bit faster. When the three stood next to her and she suddenly looked up at them when the crowd began to scream when Hak took the victory. That moment suddenly froze for everybody involved as their blood suddenly rushed backwards, the dragon blood responding to the young girl's presence and a voice sounded in their minds of the ancient contract and how they were to protect the child in front of them. Afterwards all three found their strength taken from them and bowed to the young girl.

Jae-ha felt a hand on his head and looked into the most beautiful violet eyes. "Are you okay?" a young feminine voice asked.

"Yes." he said feeling a flush hit his face, his eyes looking at her gently.

"I'm Princess Yona."

 _A princess?_ his mind questioned. _Of course my master would be a Princess. She's beautiful._ "I'm Jae-ha." he said softly, he felt a tug on his shoulder. "These are my brothers."

"Hello." she said cocking her head at them before smiling brilliantly at them. All three young men found themselves captured in that moment and did not wish to look away from her.

* * *

Years after the awakening of their blood the four dragon warriors had become the young Princess Yona's guardians and watched her as she grew. They never strayed from her side and as the years passed they watched as she loved her cousin from afar, never realizing the newly appointed Wind general Son Hak was in love with her himself. They never saw the deceit that was being placed before them by the young blond noble, nor how close they were to losing their mistress.

The night of Princess Yona's sixteenth birthday would go down as the saddest day for their young mistress. As Su-won killed King Il, Yona released a scream and before the traitor guards could lift their swords against her, she was surrounded by her guardians.

General Hak fought against the kingslayer noble as the four dragon warriors did what they were meant to do, they fought for the young Princess and her right to live. Kija's hand quadrupled its size as he took out four men with spears, as Shin-ah appeared out of nowhere and sliced through armor, skin, muscles and bone. Blood splattered the ground as the rain pounded on the ground. Jae-ha jumped in the air and took out the archers. As Zeno covered the Princesses body with his own, golden scales began to cover his body.

All the while Princess Yona cried when a sudden gasp was heard above all the fighting, causing Yona to look up. Hak's blade ended in Su-won's stomach. The noble grasped the staff of the weapon. Blood began to drip out of his mouth. He dropped his sword and as Hak pulled his blade from his body, Su-won wobbled on his legs. He took a step forward, even as his blood fell from his body. His eyes drain of life as he fell forward onto the ground dead.

Jae-ha landed next to Hak, when he saw Yona stand. Her cheeks flushed as the rain stopped and the cold night air hit her soaked body. Her eyes were wide as her lips trembled. "Why?" she whispered. "Why..." More tears began to fall.

Hak dropped his weapon and quickly moved to her side. As he pulled her now tired body to his own, he looked up at them and gave them an order. "Find the traitors."

The four young men gave a single nod before they raced off to find those who were responsible for making their mistress to cry and took away her naive innocence of how the world really was. That night their fates would change and so would the prophesy that had once been spoken.

* * *

 **M-Angel** : Thank-you for reading! Sorry for the sad ending, but I thought it was the perfect way to end this story.


End file.
